I was feelin a strong hankerin for chocolate this morning. Like, whether or not I ate it wasn’t going to be an option. It was happening. But after deciding this I realized that the only chocolate I had was in the form of (1) hot chocolate mix and (2) an Easter bunny my friend’s mom gave me. And at first I was like, “okay, so I’m gonna have to go get some chocolate chips from the store”, but then I dug deep into my soul, and I realized that I have been training my whole life for this moment. I have a dad that can make a meal out of anything in the pantry, and a mom who is incapable of cooking something disgusting, and I am the product of that. So I said to myself, “okay self, let’s do this”, and then I did. And it turned out to be way less of a catastrophe than I expected.

I made a classic roll dough, but excluded the salt and used 1/2 cup of hot chocolate mix instead of 1/4 cup sugar. Then I split the dough in half (full recipe below) and spread one half of it on a cookie sheet. I then smeared a mixture of 1/2 cup white chocolate (I don’t count it as chocolate, but I needed more volume) and 1/2 cup milk chocolate (from the melted down bunny) over the top, and covered it with the other half of the dough, rolled out. It was way more chocolatey than I expected and it was definitely a dessert bread. But also, SO GOOD!

I started by combining 1/2 cup butter + 1 cup water + 2.25 tsp yeast, then left this to rest for 10 minutes before adding two eggs + 1/2 cup hot cocoa mix + 4 cups flour.

The dough was mixed until just combined, and then left to rest for 10 minutes. Then it was mixed for 10 minutes and a smooth ball was formed.

I combined 1/2 cup white chocolate chips and a full Easter bunny (~1/2 cup) and melted them in the microwave, stirring every 10 seconds until fully melted.

I forgot to take a picture of the filling, but I rolled out half of the dough, spread the chocolate mixture over it, and then covered it by the other half of the dough. Cutting it before cooking was probably not a great idea. I just got a little over zealous.

The fully cooked (357º F for 15 minutes) chocolate bread! Not a fantastic picture though, my bad.

A single piece of the deliciousness!

Chocolate Layer Bread

• Combine 1/2 cup butter + 1 cup warm water + 2.25 tsp yeast, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
• Add 4 cups flour + 1/2 cup hot chocolate mix + 2 eggs, stir until just combined, cover and let sit for 10 minutes.
• Stir with the hands or knead for 10 minutes, then cover and let sit for 1 hour.
• Divide the dough in half. Spread one half of the dough over a cookie sheet (as thin as you want it).
• Melt 1/2 cup white chocolate and 1/2 cup milk chocolate, microwaving for 10 second iterations and stirring each time until fully melted.
• Spread the chocolate over the dough on the cookie sheet.
• Either wait for the chocolate to harden before manually spreading the other half of the dough over it, or roll the other half of the dough out on a table and transfer it to the top of the chocolate mixture.
• Bake at 375ºF for 15 minutes or until the top is golden brown.